Why GNU/Linux Rocks

[sgreger1]

So if I wanted to wipe the whole disk and start over with a fresh fedora install, can I use the first option on the boot CD that says "Format hard drive and install Fedora"? Will that automatically delete everything (including the current fedora install) and then re-install only fedora? Does anyone know if it makes the appropriate partitions or if that needs to be done beforehand?

[sgreger1]

I dislike the fedora way of partitioning a drive. I always recommend using the booable gparted image to resize a existing os partition before doing your actual install for any distro, even if the distro installer actually ues gparted itself.

Ken

Yah that's what I did when I installed it on my computer, but on hers I figured I would use the Live Bott CD tool that claimed it could partition it, but letting it do shit on auto apparently was a terrible idea.

[sgreger1]

Don't know what you got going there, but you need to minimize writes to the hd if there's still data to recover. I'd suggest making a bootable USB/CD of PartedMagic, and SEEING what your disk looks like. It's easier getting a grasp on the situation when you can see a graphical representation of the disk.
http://partedmagic.com/doku.php

A data recovery program. I've never used it, so you're on your own, but you may find stuff to get back...
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec

Partitioning's dangerous, and valuable data should always be backed up first. It's especially dangerous because it's easy to do, and it /usually/ goes well. That fosters complacency, and stupid mistakes happen. Sometimes you do everything right, and it still goes tits up. When you get everything resolved one way or the other, now's a good time to work out a REGULAR backup routine for you and your family. That server you have would be a great place to do offsite backups, and setting up something local would be useful too. A RaspberryPI would make a fine server for some local storage.

Well I was backing things up, but it was only to a recovery partition, which somehow also got corrupted during this whole thing. I have a full copy of everything on her computer from about 60 days ago though on a NHS server I have in my house. So I was backing it up regularly, but the last 60 days have been lazy. So really there isn't much being lost other than some word documents from the last month that can be recreated.

She is tired of windows so she said to just wipe the whole thing and install only linux on it and be done with it. I'd like to salvage those few word documents for her but now sure how much effort that is going to take.



If I do wipe it, how the hell do I do that from within linux or in the Bios? How do I just wipe everything, and then start over?

[devilock76]

Hmm, that's awesome. So it erased 210Gb of data on my C: drive just to install a 50GB linux partition? That totally sucks. It worked fine on my computer, not sure why it wiped hers. I am going to take it to a computer repair place tomorrow to see if they can fix it. I can't believe it managed to wipe the whole hard drive, I didn't choose the option to wipe the drive, it was only supposed to use the free space. This totally sucks.

I dislike the fedora way of partitioning a drive. I always recommend using the booable gparted image to resize a existing os partition before doing your actual install for any distro, even if the distro installer actually ues gparted itself.

Ken

[lxskllr]

Don't know what you got going there, but you need to minimize writes to the hd if there's still data to recover. I'd suggest making a bootable USB/CD of PartedMagic, and SEEING what your disk looks like. It's easier getting a grasp on the situation when you can see a graphical representation of the disk.
http://partedmagic.com/doku.php

A data recovery program. I've never used it, so you're on your own, but you may find stuff to get back...
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec

Partitioning's dangerous, and valuable data should always be backed up first. It's especially dangerous because it's easy to do, and it /usually/ goes well. That fosters complacency, and stupid mistakes happen. Sometimes you do everything right, and it still goes tits up. When you get everything resolved one way or the other, now's a good time to work out a REGULAR backup routine for you and your family. That server you have would be a great place to do offsite backups, and setting up something local would be useful too. A RaspberryPI would make a fine server for some local storage.

[sgreger1]

It sounds like you wrote over the windows partition and ntldr is all that is left in your mbr and that is what grub is seeing.

Ken

Hmm, that's awesome. So it erased 210Gb of data on my C: drive just to install a 50GB linux partition? That totally sucks. It worked fine on my computer, not sure why it wiped hers. I am going to take it to a computer repair place tomorrow to see if they can fix it. I can't believe it managed to wipe the whole hard drive, I didn't choose the option to wipe the drive, it was only supposed to use the free space. This totally sucks.

[devilock76]

It sounds like you wrote over the windows partition and ntldr is all that is left in your mbr and that is what grub is seeing.

Ken

[sgreger1]

Oh man I think I'm in trouble. So my mom's laptop is getting slow so I tried installing Fedora on it, pretty sure I messed up big time. When partitioning I shrank the volume and then made the appropriate partitions but then I chose the "replace other versions of linux" option since that is the only one that would work and now Fedora works fine but her windows won't start. As soon as it loads into windows it asks for the recovery disk and says it doesn't have any operating systems listed. I hope to god I didn't write over her whole drive somehow, but windows definitely got uninstalled or majorly corrupted somehow.

Her computer didn't come with a recovery disc so I am burning one right now. Wish me luck...


Edit: I am trying to use fdisk to see what happened to her hard drive as windows recovery says she doesn't have her hard drive, and it now has an X: drive and an F: drive, both are only a few megabytes.

fdisk -l doesn't do anything, and the manual makes no sense it says

fdisk [options] -l <disk>

But that makes no sense, I don't know what to put for options.

[sgreger1]

Just search for either e17 or enlightenment, sgreger. It's one of those two, it installed with no issues for me in the past through yum.

It says no packages for either e17 or enlightenment

It only has e16. Maybe I will try that for now

[devilock76]

Bodhi with a downloaded theme. I really like this desktop. If Ubuntu doesn't have the E17 packages when it upgrades this April, having access to E17 may push my hand towards Debian. That on top of the rolling updates is very compelling.

Looks good...

Ken

[lxskllr]

Bodhi with a downloaded theme. I really like this desktop. If Ubuntu doesn't have the E17 packages when it upgrades this April, having access to E17 may push my hand towards Debian. That on top of the rolling updates is very compelling.

[devilock76]

Same. Being able to carry a full O/S in a hundred or two mb in your pocket is magic AFAIC. I'm currently playing with TinyCore on a 256mb thumb drive. I was using SliTaz, but the latest version has been giving me problems. The nice thing about TinyCore is you can use a fat image(65mb :^D), and it packs a bunch of wireless drivers in it. That makes it useful for foreign computers where you aren't sure what you'll find. Oh yea, and on that 256mb(!) thumb drive, I also have a bunch of Windows portable apps to use on Windows machines. THAT'S magic :^)

I used to use Damn Small on a thumb drive with qemu to run virtual anywhere. No i just cay portable apps with putty and vncviewer to cnnect to my hime vnc as needed.

Ken

[lxskllr]

I have a special place in my heart fo minimal ditros...

Ken

Same. Being able to carry a full O/S in a hundred or two mb in your pocket is magic AFAIC. I'm currently playing with TinyCore on a 256mb thumb drive. I was using SliTaz, but the latest version has been giving me problems. The nice thing about TinyCore is you can use a fat image(65mb :^D), and it packs a bunch of wireless drivers in it. That makes it useful for foreign computers where you aren't sure what you'll find. Oh yea, and on that 256mb(!) thumb drive, I also have a bunch of Windows portable apps to use on Windows machines. THAT'S magic :^)

[devilock76]

Bodhi has a nice enlightenment implementation. That could be loaded into a vm to check it out.

http://www.bodhilinux.com/

I have a special place in my heart fo minimal ditros...

Ken

[lxskllr]

Bodhi has a nice enlightenment implementation. That could be loaded into a vm to check it out.

http://www.bodhilinux.com/